In the face of mounting legal troubles, Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio resigned his seat June 23 in a letter written to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

The letter stated his resignation was effective immediately.

Reports indicate that Seminerio, 74. now plans to plead guilty to a charge of fraud.

In September of 2008 a Manhattan federal court indicted Seminerio for taking $1 million in influence peddling payments.

In March, he was also charged with extortion, but it is unclear as of press time if Seminerio plans to plead guilty to that charge as well.

The troubled Assemblyman, who was serving his 16th, two-year term in Albany representing the 38th District, has loomed large over the Southern Queens political landscape for decades.

His resignation fueled immediate speculation as to who might succeed him.

Within hours of hearing that Seminerio had quit, Nick Comaianni, a Community Education Council president, announced his candidacy.

“I am like every other New Yorker who is upset with the dysfunction currently in Albany,” Comaianni said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “If elected, I will go to Albany to foster change.”

Others are expected to follow Comaianni’s lead in the coming weeks, if not days.

Some possible candidates include Seminerio’s son, John, who ran for City Council in 2001, Donna Marie Caltabiano, director of the Forest Park Senior Center, and Albert Baldeo, who ran against Serphin Maltese for the State Senate and nearly pulled off a surprising upset with almost no help form the Queens County Democratic Party.

Baldeo was mum on his future plans now that the seat is up for grabs.

“I’d like to thank him on behalf of his constituents for all the years of service that he has given to the community,” said Albert Baldeo, a south Queens community activist and former State Senate candidate. “He has my heartfelt sympathy for the trauma he’s going through right now.”